Robert Montgomery Presents (TV Series) The Ringmaster (1952) User Reviews

Not bad

[Thor-Delta · 7/10 · 29 July 2014]

I disagree with the other reviewer about this having poor production values. This is a *live* television play, and while it isn't an outstanding example of the genre (there are far better shows of its kind), it isn't worth just one star.

Vincent Price gives a very good performance as a completely unlikable guy, the female co-star also gives a good performance. The production values are decent if nothing special, camera-work is adequate, the pacing is good, in fact the only bad things about this episode are the iffy attempts at British accents and the rather dull commercials for Johnson's wax, but there are only a few of them. Popular television personality Dororthy Collins also appears in the filmed commercial for Lucky Strike cigarettes, and sings the Lucky Strike jingle. Perhaps there is a couple of slipped lines during the drama, but again, this is live drama. There are only a few goofs in this drama. The actors in this drama are very experienced professionals who knew what they were doing.

This is a bit of a spoiler, but the title "The Ringmaster" refers to how one of the characters loves to manipulate the other characters for his own amusement. The final scene confirms this.

Well Acted Live Television Drama of the Early 1950s

[OneView · 7/10 · 17 July 2020]

Live television drama is now something that is virtually lost to us, by virtue of radical changes in production techniques and also that relatively little of the live television era survives.

What we do have therefore seems a little more special, an amalgam between live radio and theatre shot with multiple cameras to catch all the action and if something went wrong (a forgotten line, cameras drifting into shot) the mistake was there for every viewer to see. Good television of this type therefore required a lot of rehearsal, planning and hopefully good luck.

The Ringmaster is a fine example of a drama where things went mostly right. The solid cast including Vincent Price, Anna Lee and Robert Coote all know their lines and provide convincing performances throughout. Vincent in particular conveys a great deal through facial expression; moments of torment as he believes he is being cheated upon, glee as his plans fall into place and fear when things go awry. Combining extended speeches with wrangling an ancient wheelchair shows his commitment and intelligence in the part.

The actual story is one of those old stage pieces well suited to live television - a small group of characters in a limited setting (in this case a hotel) circling each other, planning away and having personal revelations about their lives and actions revealed at key points. It is dusty stuff to a degree but very well played by all and there are no production impediments on display as the cameras track smoothly across the sets.

A great example of how good TV could be in the 1950s.

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 1 October 2014]

"Ringmaster" is the sort of exciting and wonderful teleplay that made 50s television well worth seeing. And, fortunately, it and a few other great plays written for TV from the day are still available and may be downloaded from archive.org for free. And, like many of these productions, this one appears to have been presented live!

The play was written by Keith Winter and is a wonderful example of fine dialog and characters. It helped that it starred Vincent Price and Anna Lee--two seasoned veterans who seemed natural in their roles. Price plays a once-famous stage actor who has disappeared from the public view following a terrible accident. Most people don't know it, but he's in a wheelchair and lives in the middle of nowhere in England and they run a bed and breakfast. An old friend of his arrives quite by chance--not realizing that the man and his wife owned the place. At first, it seems like a wonderful chance for the trio to talk about old times--especially since Price's character seems so well adjusted and happy despite his handicap. However, over time it becomes obvious that he is acting...and underneath this happy persona is a bitter, manipulative and evil man. The play is called "Ringmaster" because although the man is confined to a wheelchair, he takes great delight in controlling and destroying those around him.

The production works for many reasons beyond just great acting. Although the script is a bit painful to watch, it is very insightful and hard-hitting. And, it's nice to see a program where a disabled person is NOT noble or kind--he's a horrible jerk! There also is a delicious sense of evil about it--as he is really deriving wonderful pleasure in hurting those about him and he seems to think he can do this forever because people will put up with this because he's disabled. But, the final wonderful scene with him crawling across the floor--that is something this HUGE jerk never anticipated and I strongly recommend you see.

Poor Quality

[marthawilcox1831 · 1/10 · 18 July 2014]

Although working in television during the 1950s wasn't a step down for Vincent Price, this particular project had poor production values. It doesn't anywhere near the quality of 'Science Fiction Theatre' which was shot in colour, nor does it have a good story like 'Summer Theatre'. Television was obviously in its infant stage at this point, but equally there were other serials that had higher production values. What this episode needed was a good script, even though it had the germ of a good idea. The performances didn't lift the story, nor did the direction add anything to the story. It is obvious that this series did not stand the test of time because it wasn't that good.